One of the fundamental principles of natural justice is that no man shall be a judge in his own cause.
This principle consists of seven well recognized facets:
(i) The adjudicator shall be impartial and free from bias.
(ii) The adjudicator shall not be the prosecutor.
(iii) The complainant shall not be an adjudicator.
(iv) A witness cannot be the Adjudicator.
(v) The Adjudicator must not import his personal knowledge of the facts of the case while inquiring into charges.
(vi) The Adjudicator shall not decide on the dictates of his Superiors or others.
(vii) The Adjudicator shall decide the issue with reference to material on record and not reference to extraneous material or on extraneous considerations. If any one of these fundamental rules is breached, the inquiry will be vitiated…..Union of India v. Ram Lakhan Sharma, AIR 2018 SC 4860.